Purcellville the Exception Amid Low Turnout

By Tim Richardson

Originally published at 11:41 a.m., May 6, 2008
Updated at 4:34 p.m., May 6, 2008

Voters are showing up to the polls today in Purcellville, but many residents of Loudoun's six other incorporated towns are sitting this election out.

That's the assessment from Loudoun general registrar Judy Brown, who said a lack of major issues and contested races has translated into little action at the polls.

"It's not happening out there today," she said late this morning. "It's a very boring day, I can tell you that."

The exception is Purcellville, where voters will decide whether to reelect incumbent mayor Robert W. Lazaro Jr. or hand the town's top post to former Town Council member Karl R. Phillips, who lost to Lazaro in 2006.

The race has focused on plans to build a new high school north of Purcellville -- a plan Lazaro opposes and Phillips favors. Voters also are casting ballots to fill three of the other six seats on the Town Council.

"It just doesn't look like much of a turnout any place other than Purcellville," Brown said.

As of 1:40 p.m., 750 people had cast a ballot in Purcellville, which is 17 percent of registered voters in the town. As of 10:30 a.m., 25 voters had cast a ballot in Hamilton and 22 had voted in Round Hill. In Middleburg, 64 people had voted by 3:15 p.m.

Leesburg -- and its 11 polling places -- is the only town in Loudoun with more than one polling location. At the West Leesburg precinct at the Ida Lee Recreation Center, 213 voters had cast a ballot by 2 p.m., which is an 8 percent turnout.

At Cool Spring Elementary, the turnout rate was 3 percent by 2 p.m.

"There's not much going on," Brown said this morning. "I think in Purcellville, being there's a big race going on there, I think we're going to see a slightly higher turnout than we normally do."

In the last municipal election in 2006, Purcellville saw 31 percent of its registered voters cast a ballot. That year, Hamilton saw the highest turnout, at 32 percent, while Lovettsville had the lowest turnout, at 14 percent.

Check LoudounExtra.com tonight and Wednesday for additional coverage of the municipal election.

Tagged: elections

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